I had a business trip to Geneva, Switzerland, in mid-November, 1999,
and had a free day on Saturday, 20 November. When I checked with
the tour desk at the hotel (Movenpick, by the airport which is
nice, but $$$), they had an all-day bus trip down to Chamonix, with a
cable-car ride up to the top of L'Aguille du Midi, on the slopes
of the Mont Blanc massif.

The weather was great...the first clear day all week. (There had
been low ceilings and light snow every day in Geneva.) The bus
ride down was picturesque, with snow encrusting the trees and
making for Christmas-card scenes.

The cable car ride up the steep valley wall was spectacular, and
not the sort of place for an acrophobe! There are two sections,
requiring you to change cars about 2/3 of the way up. You then
walk across a bridge, and take an elevator to the top of
L'Aguille du Midi.

The summit platform is at 3842 meters, call it 12,700', and
overlooks the snowfields and glaciers leading up to Mont Blanc.
Temperature at the summit platform was a brisk -20C, or
about -4F. (I was glad I had the good sense to have packed
my Polartec jacket and Gore-Tex parka...I could have used another
pair of socks!!)

The view is magnificent...the very top of Mont Blanc was
still cloud-shrouded, but the whole expanse of the massif and
most of the surrounding mountains were free of clouds. This
was the first time I had a chance to visit the Alps, and it
was worth the trip down from Geneva even without the time to
climb or ski! Now I'll have to find a reason to go back and
actually climb there...

Normally, I avoid shooting photos through the windows of
a moving vehicle. However, the scenes as we drove from
Geneva down to Chamonix were irresistable, as the snow
and hoarfrost turned the trees into a fairyland scene.

From the lower platform, you can look up to the tip of the pinnacle.
The elevator is reached by walking over a short bridge and through
a tunnel which is directly under the tower on top of the pinnacle.

Once on top, you are presented with this view back down to the
lower platform and restaurant area. The bridge from the lower
platform to the elevator shaft is visible in the lower center of
this photo.

The high clouds still obscured the sun in the direction of
Mont Blanc, presenting this ghostly silhouette. The summit, in
the center of this shot, remained shrouded in clouds that showed
no signs of clearing.